FO: Patty the Platty

This was a case of me just finishing all my Christmas gift making and wanting to make something frivolous. I came across this pattern in my stash and it was just so adorable and I had no deadline makes actively going, so I decided immediately to cast it on :) Isn't she cute?

This is the Platypus with a Skirt pattern by Barbara Prime of Fuzzy Mitten Designs. I just love her animal patterns - they are always so classic and just look like what an heirloom toy should be to me. Her animals have jointed arms and legs and the look of them always reminds me of Calico Critters with their clothes and accessories.

This was an entirely stash project - the brown yarn is Vanna's Choice in Taupe, the gray is vintage Paton's Canadiana in Gray, and the purple is Serenity Sock in Purple. I cast this on just before New Year's and I finished it over the course of a month.

The bill was one of the more challenging appendages I've attached in a Fuzzy Mitten pattern and it took several tries at repositioning it to get it placed correctly. Then I stitched in the bars to make the bill shaped like it should be. It was fiddly, but we got there in the end and I'm glad I made the effort to make her look like she should.

Her little dress is so cute with a lovely textured stitch all over. The mini buttons have been in my stash from making other Fuzzy Mitten clothing before - they came in a big pack of various colors and they are handy to have around for this purpose. The purple yarn was chosen because it's one of the only sock yarns I had that I only have one skein of and therefor it would not work for a full pair of socks, plus the color looked very good with the body colors I had chosen.

So that's Patty the Platy :) I think she's just adorable and she was just the project I needed at the time to get back into making silly things just for fun. Sometimes you just need a palate cleanser that doesn't need to fit anyone and it's only purpose is to be cute, you know? If you need a project along those lines, I definitely recommend any of Barbara's patterns. They never disappoint.

FO: Bub the Bird

After all the knitting I did for Christmas gifts, I really needed a palette cleanser. I've had my eye on the Bub the Bird pattern ever since its release, so when I won a pattern of my choice from the designer back when I made my Candy Sheep, it was a no-brainer that I asked for this pattern :) I'd been itching to make it up, but I had sworn off personal knitting for Christmas projects at the time. So it only makes sense that I made this first thing!

This is the Bub the Bird pattern by Julie L. Anderson, and it's pretty ridiculously adorable. He reminds me of a character from the Disney animated Alice in Wonderland. I picked this pattern first since I knew it would be pretty simple - he's kind of just a ball with wings, legs, and a beak when you come right down to it. I knew there would be no fitting or math involved in making him, lol.

I used all yarn from my stash: Vanna's Choice in Colonial blue for the body and Scarlet for on antennae, Red Heart With Love in Daffodil for the legs and beak with Perfect Pink for one antennae, and Everyday Soft Worsted in Shamrock for the final antennae. I based my color choices off the main pattern example since I thought he was super cute and my brain just didn't want any choices at the time, ha ha.

I was thrilled to use a pair of my newly acquired pink safety eyes I got at The Sewing Studio on New Year's Day. I actually tried out these eyes, a blue pair, and an all black pair, but these were just so fun and honestly when else am I going to get to use pink eyes, amiright? I've only ever used a colored eye set once in all my creations even though I have several colors, so I had to take advantage of that opportunity. Plus I think the pink eyes really round off the slightly crazy design.

The wings and tail are all the same, and they used some interesting techniques for being such small pieces. I love their shape though, so it was well worth it. The antennae are made with i-cord for the yellow and then you increase to make the ball. It was interesting to hide the tails in them, but not as noticeable in person.

I love how his legs look wen dangling from something - the legs are just i-cord and then the feet are a really neat design so the come out webbed like duck feet. The "knees" are added after the fact with creative knotting, and I love him all the more for those knobby knees. He sits on one of my shelves by my sewing machine with his legs dangling down :) I think he's pretty fun.

So, that's my Bub :) This project was just what I needed after Christmas - cute and fun and frivolous. I definitely recommend this pattern, but maybe not as a first go. It's not hard, but there are some interesting shaping techniques that could be a bit confusing for a newbie. If you're a confident knitter, this pattern would be no problem. And I personally believe the world needs more Bub the Birds.

FO Friday: Meet Spud the Sheep

I'm excited to announce that I finished my sheep this week :)

This is Spud! He is the main character from Spud & Chloe at the Farm. I've had this book for over a year and I had never made anything from it even though all the patterns are adorable. I figured I couldn't do better than to make the main man and I'm so glad he was my first choice as I just love him!

Spud is made from Everyday Soft Worsted yarn in Snow White and Really Red along with Vanna's Choice yarn in Beige. His body also has a piece of panty hose with poly pellets inside to give him some heft - this keeps him from toppling over :) I did modify the collar pattern a bit - if I had made it like the pattern said, the circle around the bow wouldn't have cinched in the bow at all, so I made it smaller. The collar itself is supposed to be long so it can connect to a leash so that Chloe (the other main character) can lead Spud around. Since I wasn't making a leash yet, I decided to just make the collar more sheep-neck appropriate. I can always just make the leash longer if/when I make a Chloe.

His body is made using a twist stitch. It was an experience to learn and at first it was really fun to do, but holy cow by the time I started the decreases I was so over it, lol. That's a lot of twisting, ya'll. He is definitely super cute because of this stitch though, so I'm really glad the pattern has you do it that way.

I'm also discovering that it takes almost as long to attach the pieces on knitted amigurumi as it does to actually knit the pieces. I've noticed that before with a few that I've made, but this one kind of made that sink in. I've been really into the knitted animals though lately for some reason. I don't mind that they take longer to make because I think I prefer the results and enjoy the process more than crochet. Not that I will be giving up crocheted animals :)

So that's my fun FO for this week :) Head over to Tami's Amis' Blog to see what fun things others have finished up!